No Time To Die (2021)

This movie is way way too long. This is practically a mini-series because while it is just under 3 hours, it seems longer. I recommend two sittings. There is a changing of the guard at MI-6, with James retired and a new agent inhabiting the 007 moniker. This is Daniel Craig's swan song in the role, and so the plot harkens back to old enemy's and new ways for bad guys to wreck world-wide havoc in their diabolical plans for control and revenge. Rami Mallek is the bad guy, and he looks about the way he did in Pappillon, when he was in a jungle prison (ie. not good), and there is an elaborate sub-plot for revenge that he is intent on carrying out. What makes this worth your time is the visual and sound effects (for which the movie is on the short list for an Oscar nomination for). The opening sequence is tightly framed and almost poetic—even just the first shot of a hooded figure coming over a snowy hill has a grace that Bond often lacks. The shoot-out in Cuba moves like a dance scene with Craig and Ana de Armas (a Cuban born actress) finding each other’s rhythms. There’s a riveting encounter in a foggy forest and a single shot climb in a tower of enemies that has a one-shot scene that is beautiful and suspenseful.

How The Word Is Passed by Clint Smith

This is one of the best books that I read this year. The book travels the United States city by city, and takes us on an unforgettable tour that seeks to look clearly at our past and the role of slavery in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves. It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. I was unaware that there is now a tour that focuses on the role of slaves in Jefferson's life that is not about the gloried past of the South but rather about reckoning with Jefferson as a man. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation–turned–maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers. A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted. This is both scholarly and moving, filled with stories that bring things to life and are memorable. Do not miss it.

Free Guy (2021)

Let me start off by saying that this is not a deep movie, do not dig too deep for meaing. I think this is supposed to be fun, even though you can certainly read some meaning into it. Ryan Reynold is Blue Shirt guy, a non-player character better known as an NPC in a video game. he gets up, puts the same outfit on each day, gets coffee on his way to the bank where he works, and where there is also an armed robbery every day, and then he goes home to do it all over again. That is until one day when he sees a girl cross his path and he wants to follow her, talk to her, and so he grabs some sunglasses off a bank robber, and goes for it. There is a world within the game that he inhabits, but there is a world outside the game and players who come into the game he can talk with, so there are two parallel worlds at play. He realizes that he needs to help the girl within the game to also help her outside the game, and the interplay is fun and entertaining to watch.

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

This won the National Book Award for Fiction this year. There were quite a few really good books on the long list, including one that was my favorite book I read in an overall excellent year of reading, but as the title infers, this is a hell of a book. It is a story without a plot, meandering along with an author who is on a book tour to promote his book, you guessed it, Hell of a Book, when he sees the shadow character in this book, a young black boy he calls "the Kid", someone who is maybe a figment of his imagination, maybe a hallucination, and maybe just the author as a young boy. The Kid has a back story, parents who try to protect him, but he is severely mistreated, called names and bullied because of the color of his skin, who watches his father gunned down by police based solely on the color of his skin, and who feels that being invisible is his safest bet. It is an exploration of racism, a mirror being held up for both the author and the reader to see into. Clever and powerful.

Luca (2021)

The animation in this latest Pixar film is pretty spectacular, and for me outweighed the story itself, although if you are thinking of giving up midway, which is what happened to me when I started to watch it this summer, stick it out. The story follows a formula of children growing up a bit and wanting to express themselves and break away from their parents, the parents wanting to protect their children, and the unsavory influence who puts ideas in their child's head. The twist is that Luca and Alberto aren't kids, they are sea monsters, or what I think of as merboys, who shed their tails and scales when they are on dry land. The dry land is Italy, so there is a bit of Italian and lots of pasta in this seaside fishing village that is very charming. They are befriended by Guiliana, a local girl who is more of a tomboy who wishes to beat the town bully and seeks the glory associated with being a winner. There is the inevitable falling out amongst friends, and Alberto almost gets them killed, but in the end they all stick together, no matter the price. Fino!

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

I have to admit, while I have only read three previous novels by this author, I find him to be an excellent storyteller who tells compelling stories about black people in America. He is unemotional in rendering extremely difficult situations and making them both real and bearable to hear. This is almost light in comparison to his last two books. Set in the early 1960s, it is an extraordinary story about an ordinary man. Furniture salesman Ray Carney is a good guy who ever so gradually becomes a man gone wrong. He gets sucked into schemes and heists through his cousin Freddie, the proverbial bad influence. The lure of what Freddie's world offers is just too much for Ray to turn his back on. The novel is structured in three parts, covering a period from 1959 to 1964, each climactically peaking with criminal activity. Part one demonstrates how easily a man can step downward into crime. Part two covers Carney’s upward criminal journey, what might even make you think it is not a disaster. Part 3 considers whether a man should step up to help others, what is one's responsibility to the greater social good? This book made me think that I need to go back and read the books that come before it that I have missed.

Jingle Jangle (2020)

I meant to watch this last holiday season, when a song from this jubilant Christmas musical was short listed for an Oscar. The season got turned upside down for us last year (COVID), and the song didn't make the nominee list and by the time I was done watching Oscar movies it was April, and let's just say that over the top Christmas movies should not be eatched in spring. So we made it happen this year. This is a sprawling musical extravaganza whose candy-colored, dandily overstuffed revelry spills over with joy and jubilance. It even has a hint of being at an in person performance, which of course we are all pacing ourselves with these days with omicrom rising (I am finally learning the Greek alphabet in order after all these years of just recognizing the letters but not knowing the exact order, mores the pity). It has a talented and largely all black cast which is just an added bonus. The story has a hopeful beginning, a bah humbug middle and the obligatory happy ending, all wrapped up in the magic of imagination and possibility. Tis the season!

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

This book explores the difficulties that are inherent in being not just an immigrant but also Asian in this funny/not funny book. The jovial nature hides some of the bitterness that is just below the surface, easily scratched and found. The story, written as a Hollywood screen play, follows a "Generic Asian Man" in his efforts to become more than a bit player. He yearns to be a "Kung Fu Guy,” which is the very definition of making it, a mantle of success. He wants to move from the background to the center of the screen. It’s not easy. For the past century or so, American movies and television have relegated Asian characters and actors to the margins, with few exceptions. Generic Asian Man — he has a name, Willis Wu — is stuck playing Background Oriental Male. If he’s lucky, he might get to speak a few words as Delivery Guy. Willis is trapped in these roles — not just as an aspiring actor but as a character on a page. The troubles of black Americans are not downplayed, but rather book end the stereotypes for Asians.

Power of the Dog (2021)

Wow, this is an incredibly powerful movie, set in a desolate beautidul place with an unsettling tone from start to finish. The score, the cinematography, the acting, and the directing are all pitch perfect. There is sparse dialog but the music keys you in to the mood of each scene quite brilliantly. Stick with this, because I think being uncomfortable is part of the point. Phil and George are brothers who do everything together on thier frontier Montana ranch, but they are nothing alike. Phil runs the show in every way and George says little to nothing, all the while he is being put down and belittled. When George adds a wife and her mostly grown son to his family, Phil goes about undermining them in the way he works to marginalize George. But there is something very wrong with Phil, that is clear. My spouse and I watched this separately and on different days, and when my son and I were midway through the movie he asked me who I felt sorried for and while there are two other characters who might fit that bill, Phil was my answer. All the main cast members are spectacular in this, but Benedict Cumberbatch is heads above the rest. He radiates the character of Phil in every possible way, and is amazing to behold.

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

I heard about this book from an NPR interview with Ibram Kendi about the books that he would have his own children and other people's children read in order to raise anti-racist humans, so wrapped this into my post-George Floyd committment to knowing more and being better. A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion, her brother's sexual orientation, and her own relationship to the world. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—-especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. Her mother would quash her passion, but a teacher recognizes her talent and she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club. She doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less find the courage to speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. In the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent, and her fierceness is something to behold.

Game Changers (2018)

I have some friends who decided that they should eat a plant based diet after discovering that their cholesterol was not where it should be, so despite being dedicated exercisers and eating in moderation, they needed to make a change. I myself would have opted for a statin but that is not how they roll. Their dedication to the idea was ramped up by this movie. The documentary, which is produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jackie Chan, concerns the rise of plant-based eating among elite athletes, even tracing it back to the gladiators. They incorrectly portray ancient man as primarily a meat eater, when actually the population explosions occurred once grain was domesticated, but then focus on professional athletes and their (mistaken) belief that red meat is the dinner of champions. A plant based diet is healthy and it is also good for the planet. I myself go with more of a limitation on processed foods and animal based protein and lots of vegetables, grains, and beans, but the argument that it is better for us all to eat only plants is well explored here.

Celery Salad

This is a great winter salad, because you can always find good celery! 1/2-1 tsp fish sauce 2 garlic cloves kosher salt freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper 10 Castelvetrano olives 2 red peppers 1 bunch celery 1/2 cup parsley leaves and tender stems Combine minced garlic, fish sauce, salt and pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and Aleppo pepper into a bowl and whisk. Use the flat side of a chef’s knife to smash the olives and loosen the pits, then tear the flesh into 2 or 3 pieces (discard pits). Cut peppers in half lengthwise and crosswise, then sliver. Place the olives and peppers in a salad bowl. Trim the celery at both ends, then separate the bunch into individual stalks; wash and dry. Snap off the light green leaves from innermost stalks and set those aside. Cut the celery into very thin slices on a dramatic angle, then transfer to the bowl with the olives and peppers. Add most of the dressing and toss with your hands to coat. Add the parsley and reserved celery leaves and toss gently to combine. Shave the other half of the Parm over, drizzle with dressing, and top with a few more grinds of black pepper.

The Doctors Blackwell by Janice Nimura

I got this biography as a present from my MIL, which is meaningful in that she is a physician and so am I. She hasn't talked much about what it was like for her to be one of only three women in her medical school class, but reading this book made me think about all the people who went before me, making it a bit easier. This tells the tale of two sisters who wanted to be doctors, Elizabeth was largely welcomed into her class (where she had to be unanimously voted in by all her fellow classmates prior to admission--that was the first miracle. The second was that they were impressed by her rather than jealous). She was only allowed to work with women, and to focus mostly on obstetrics and gynecology, but that suited her fine. She encountered numerous challenges, but she was creative about overcoming them, she had tremendous family support, and she and her sister were mentors and inspirations for women to come after them.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

We have officially opened the Oscar Movie Viewing Season as of last night. The short lists will not be announced until next Tuesday, and the finalists for Best Animated Feature Film will not even be amongst them, but this is about attitude more than anything else, and we are ready to spend the next three months watching both possible and definite Oscar nominees. In many ways, the guessing what might make the cut is as fun as watching the final 50 or so movies that actually get nominated, and it is something I look forward to. This is a likely contender for the final five, and my son and I really enjoyed it--we do not think it has winner written all over it, but it was fun, and quirky, and definitely not a cookie cutter movie. The Mitchells have two kids who are nerds, Katie is into movie making and her brother Aaron knows absolutely everything there is to know about dinosaurs. There is the inevitable generation gap at work, which has been widened by technology. She has a creative spirit that has led to directing viral YouTube videos; whereas her dad has no idea how to use a computer to even watch the videos that have kind of made his daughter a star. The personality divide between Katie and her dad feels even wider as she’s planning to go off to film school to pursue her dreams, and he’s afraid she'll fail. So, in a last ditch effort to connect with her, the whole family heads off on a road trip to take her to college, which gets derailed by a rogue AI techno-apocalypse. What could go wrong? It is maybe too busy and zany for some, but we really enjoyed it.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

The author of this book, and others, is the first writer in the science fiction genre to receive the McAuthor Foundation “Genius” grant--so fasten your seat belts this is good. I read this book for my Sisters Friends book group, and the mixture of science fiction and time travel to highlight where we are in the United States when it comes to race, what has changed and what has very much stayed the same. The story is about Dana, a black woman living in the 70s era Los Angeles. She is unpacking boxes at home when all of a sudden she disappears, and fall into the 1800s of the Pre-Civil War South. Before she can figure out what is going on, she saves a small white child’s life but is almost killed herself. Then she immediately returns home to her time period, but things only get weirder after that--every time the white boy almost dies, she is hauled back to slave times, and the power that he holds over her, literally, is more complex than slavery and at the same time very much the same. This will make you think about race and slavery in a very different light. Mind bending.

Soused Shrimp with Corn

My spouse picked out this recipe, which we were looking at for a pot luck, having already gotten shrimp for another purpose altogether, and I have to say, I was skeptical. A corn and shrimp salad?? He pointed out that if that was my thought, then I was definitely not from the South--which is accurate in every way. My roots are Puritan and the only south I have living in is Southern California. This was fantastic, and the method for perfectly cooking the shrimp is dead on (I was skeptical of that as well). 1-2 Lbs. medium sized shrimp 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns 1 lemon, cut in quarters 3 c. corn 5 sprigs fresh marjoram 2 fresh hot green chiles, split 1 cup scallions, shaved 1 lemon, thinly sliced The Vinaigrette 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons minced dill or fennel fronds 3 tablespoons white vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup olive oil Salt and pepper to taste In a large sauce pan place the shrimp in just enough water to cover. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, and the quartered lemon, squeezed. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the corn, marjoram, chile and stir once, remove from heat. Drain and turn into a serving bowl. Remove the lemon and bay leaf. Fold in the scallions and lemon slices. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette until well combined. Pour the vinaigrette over the corn and shrimp. Let stand for 20 minutes tossing occasionally. Serve.

Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert

This was on Obama's summer reading list (which I have barely cracked, meanwhile he probably has an end of the year list in the works), and while I rarely read nonfiction, I am not sorry when I do. The author's previous book is about a mass extinction we are at risk for secondary to human activity. This book is a kind of sequel to it, describing the tehcnological solutions scientists are developing to fix various aspects of the Anthropocene disasters: from saving dying corals over controlling invasive species, to carbon capture and global geoengineering. Hence the title, because there are men of science who want to shoot tiny aerosol particles into the stratosphere to block out the sun and decrease the global temperature. As a side effect, that is expected to turn the sky white instead of blue. PS, this is a solution that might work in the short term but is doomed in the long run. So the book is largely about humans trying to fix the damage they themselves caused. Sometimes the humans are trying to fix the damage they caused by trying to fix another damage previously.

Geese in the Perigord

This is a fois gras producing farm that we passed one day as we drove around the countryside in the Perigord, and while my husband popped in the store across the street, I spent about twenty minutes watching the geese. Fois gras is produced by force feeding the geese grain for about six months, which enlarges their livers to the point where they tilt forward when they walk, their livers are so weighty, and then they become their component parts of goose and liver for the consumer.

I had read about this before, and wondered what this kind of life would look like. Factory farmed chickens have a shorter life span from hatching to the table, and are often penned up the whole of their lives. Seeing these geese, who were chortling and mixing with each other outside on a pleasant fall day seemed to be living a reasonable life for an animal produced to be food, even if they were a bit off kilter as they waddled about.

Soy Honey Broccoli with Peanuts

3 tablespoons Peanut oil 3 cloves garlic ; thinly sliced 1 1/4 inch Fresh ginger ; peeled and julienned (2 1/2 tbsp) 1 Orange ; peel finely, shaved to get 3 strips 3 tablespoons salted roasted peanuts ; roughly chopped 1 pound broccolini ; trimmed and cut in half crosswise if the stems are thick 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 1.5 teaspoons Honey Salt 1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, orange strips, and peanuts and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic and nuts are light golden brown. Transfer to a small bowl (along with all of the oil) to stop them cooking and set aside. 2. Place a steamer insert in a stockpot and fill with just enough water so it doesn't touch the teaming basket. Place over high heat and, once boiling, add the broccolini. Cover and steam for 4-5 minutes, until cooked. Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving plate, and set aside. 3. Return the saucepan you cooked the peanuts in to high heat - don't worry about wiping it clean - and add the soy sauce, honey, and 1/8 tsp of salt. Heat for about 1 minute; it should reduce to about 1 1/2 tbsp of sauce. Spoon 2 tbsp of the infused oil over the broccolini, along with the peanuts and aromatics. Add the reduced soy sauce mixture, give everything a gentle mix, and serve.

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

This is a stunning, sobering, and ultimately oddly hopeful book that should be required reading for every high school student. It is about, as the title plainly states, how the pervasive and systemic racism that exists across the American landscape costs each and every one of us. Actual economic penalties, as well as quality of life costs. Unfortunately many people who think racism is overblown, or that its dominant historic forms have been overturned and the oppressors have become the oppressed, and those people might not read this book. And, if the studies and surveys are to be believed, the number of people willing to remain suspended between belief and denial, available to have their minds changed, is small and shrinking. I am harkening to my vaccine conversations with clearly at risk people I interact with professionally who found my having the conversation with them to reveal my politics rather than what the science shows. For those who do read this, she starts with the story of public swimming pools closing completely rather than allowing people of all colors to swim there. We would rather suffer than share. Why can’t we have public swimming pools, subsidized higher education, equitably distributed wealth, healthy natural environments, affordable housing and fair terms on mortgage loans? History shows U.S. society repeatedly refusing itself goods like these on racial grounds. Better not to have them at all than to allow people of color to enjoy them. But it is the result of middle class and poor whites being manipulated into accepting less, at great expense to themselves. Time for change.

The Apollo (2019)

This is an amazing documentary about 85 years in an amazing place, onethat changed black culture and Amercian culture. Swaying back and forth between the past and the recent present, the story of the stage that launched a thousand careers is so beautifully and occasionally painfully told should be wathced by every single person. I cannot say why after being shortlisted for the Oscars that it did not make the final cut. Countless astonishing spectacles of black expression were experienced, for the first time, on the Apollo stage. But an event that stands out was the weekly gladiatorial talent show known as Amateur Night, an Apollo institution ever since the theater began its life in 1934. The glory of Amateur Night was at once aesthetic and existential. Anyone who wanted to could get up on stage, which meant that even the most marginalized members of a marginalized community could have a voice. You will be astounded by the performances that are recounted here. This is a do not miss documentation of a slice of American musical history.

Southern Corn Pudding

Corn pudding in some variation is a regular on our holiday table, and living in a corn producing state we always have corn from the summer socked away in the freezer to sustain us through the winter. This version is completely gluten free, which is a plus if you have someone in your family who can't do gluten, and it is richer than what I usually make. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan 1 large white or yellow onion, finely diced 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the onions 2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced 1 teaspoon ground mustard 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup buttermilk 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon hot sauce 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 cobs) 3/4 cup grated sharp-as-possible cheddar 6 tablespoons cornmeal 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder Set a medium skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When it’s melted, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Turn off the heat. Add the garlic and mustard, and stir. Let cool while you tend to the rest of the recipe. Heat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9x9 inch baking dish (or other 1 1/2 quart–sized baking dish). Combine the cream, buttermilk, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and hot sauce in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Combine the corn kernels, cheddar, cornmeal, and baking powder in another, larger bowl. Stir with a spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Add the cooled onion mixture and stir. Add the liquid mixture and stir. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes until the casserole has puffed up, is deeply browned along the edges, and browning on top. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Zorrie by Laird Hunt

The National Book Award short list this year has a number of great books to choose from, and this is one of them. It is a short story about people living lives of quiet desperation. Zorrie Underwood has a very hard childhood, and then it gets worse. She is orphaned and penniless at 21, she leaves her Indiana town and finds employment at the Radium Dial Company. She is told that painting numbers on clocks with luminous, glow-in-the-dark paint is vital to the war effort. The girls doing the work, however, are unaware that the dull yellow powder in which they dip their brushes — whose bristles they then shape into a tip with their lips — is lethal. We follow what happens to those who stay, but Zorrie returns to Indiana to live among the silent but hardworking folks she knows. It is a mournful and yet entirely recognizable story that is told with a poet's brevity and eye for details. Just beautiful

Enola Holmes (2020)

I have to admit that while I haven't read a Sherlock Holmes story in probably close to 50 years and I never read the whole ouevre, I have almost always enjoyed the knock off versions based on them. One of our pandemic favorites was watching the series Elementary, which has Sherlock as an edgy Brit living in New York City, and Watson as Lucy Lui, a great pairing. This one is based on a young adult novel with Sherlock's previously unimagined younger sister as the budding detective. Her first case drops into her lap as she is slipping away from the grip of her elder brother Mycroft. She is smart and likeable and solves the various crises that she encounters with ingenuity. There is a backdrop of the early days of women's suffrage, which we know took quite some time to get off the ground. I very much enjoyed this version.

Apple Cornbread Stuffed Pork Loin

My eldest son always makes a rolled meat entree for Thanksgiving to serve alongside the turkey and this was this years version. It was absolutely delicious and very pretty to serve--very enjoyable, and if the cornbread is prepped ahead or purchased, then it is pretty quick to put together. 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted 1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped 1 cup (236 ml) chicken or vegetable stock 1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch of ground black pepper 1 cup homemade or store bought cornbread 1/4 cup (32 grams) dried cranberries. 2 pound (1 kg) pork loin In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the apple, celery, onion and sage. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and salt, cook for 5 minutes. Add the cornbread, stir to mix well until all the cornbread has absorbed the liquid. Mix in the dried cranberries and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Reference the images, start cuting the pork lengthwise starting on the right (if you’re right handed, start on the left if you’re left handed) about ¼ inch above the cutting board and slowly slice the meat. Slice and look, making sure you are keep the same thickness. Don’t worry if it’s a little off and uneven, you can fix this at the end. Once flat, season lightly and evenly with salt and pepper. Place an even layer of the stuffing all over the pork then roll up and tie with kitchen string. Place onto a baking sheet and season with salt, pepper and dried sage. Roast for 45 until the internal temperature reads 140°F on a meat thermometer. Make sure the thermometer is in the meat, not the cornbread stuffing. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Saint-Félix-de-Reillac-et-Mortemart, Perigord, France

I have highlighted some of the better known villages in the Perigord Noir, but truly, there are dozens of them that are really gorgeous to drive through and go by. If I were on a longer trip, I would settle down in a public square, get a coffee, a croissant if the town had such a place, and read while taking in the sights and scenes. This is a region where you can loiter, where there is beauty everywhere you turn, especially if you love rivers, mountains, and forests.

This town is actually an amagamation of two towns, so there are two cemetaries, two churches and about 200 people. Overcrowding is not an immediate concern. There may be some concern about the lack of people, as when I peruse the real estate on offer in the region and see that there are quite a few places for sale. If I lived closer and spoke more French I could see this as second home kind of territory--or work remotely, better yet.

I have said this before as I write about this recent trip, but put this on your radar as a wonderful region to visit, with lots of nice places that are not on the well beaten path.

Matrix by Lauren Groff

I really enjoyed this historically anchored story of drama and conceit that occurs within the walls of a medieval convent. I know it is not for everyone, but this is a very frustrated feminist from a thousand years ago that is pretty relatable to today, I am sad to say. Marie de France is an actual person. a mysterious figure, a poet whose visionary lays and magical fables, written in Francien, a medieval dialect of Old French, are complex, sensual and self-lacerating. Groff has read these mystical poems and what limited historical records exist, and has fashioned a life for Marie. We first meet our ungainly heroine aged 17, as she is cast out of her home; the illegitimate half-sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she is sent to a nunnery in England. She leaves behind the servant girl whose “frank and knowing body” provided Marie with endless pleasure. She is near-mad with love for her half-sister, whose presence lies heavily over her adolescent mind. She proves herself worthy of her famed sister, and creates a full and meaningful life from almost nothing--it is a book that covers her life and death in full, and I enjoyed it. This was short listed for the National Book Award in 2021, despite all it's idiosyncrasies.

Kale and White Bean Gratin

This comes from At Home In The Kitchen and is really greater than the sum of it's parts. So simple, especially if you rehydrate the beans and cook the greens ahead of time, and really delicious. 1 big bunch of greens, 2 c, cooked 2-3 c, cooked white bean 1 garlic clove, minced Pinch of cayenne or chipotle powder Salt and pepper to taste 3/4 cup of plain full-fat yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere, Swiss, Munster or other melting cheese of your choice 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, panko or crushed crackers Directions: Over medium-high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt the water. While the water is boiling, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Generously butter a gratin dish or 9" baking dish. Blanch your greens 2 minutes, or until just soft. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely. Return your greens to the pot, and add beans, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into your baking dish. Dollop your yogurt on top of the mixture. Top with your cheese, then breadcrumbs. Bake about 30 minutes, until browned. Remove baking dish from oven, and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.

Abundance by Jakob Guanzon

This book is achingly sad to read. It opens with father and son being evicted from their trailer on New Year’s Eve, Henry and his son, Junior, have been reduced to living out of a pickup truck. Six months later, things are even more desperate. Henry, barely a year out of prison for pushing opioids, is down to his last pocketful of dollars, and little remains between him and the street. But hope is on the horizon: Today is Junior’s birthday, and Henry has a job interview tomorrow. The chapters of the book are entitled with the sum total of the money that they have--it is never much, occasionally it is nothing, and rarely do they have enough for a week. It is a gut wrenching story about poverty that is very well told. Deserving of its presence on the long list for the National Book Award for Fiction.

Red Notice (2021)

I love Dwayne Johnson, but this movie is not his finest effort. It is a movie that I would give two stars, which is a rarity for me, I am fairly generous about movies having something to like about them, and while I did not hate this, I wouldn't recommend it beyond for an action adventure movie that doesn't require too much engagement. It is too bad because Johnson is flanked by Wonderwoman (Gal Gadot) and Ryan Reynolds (who was the Green Lantern if I am not mistaken, so this movie has a lot of super heroes to lean on). It is a bad guy, worse guy kind of of story that vaguely involves Ancient Egyptology as well. We enjoyed it on that level, but hope for better Rock movies to come.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

This book is a wonder, the very best book I have read covering this historical and emotional territory. I am not sure what it is that makes poets wtie 800 page epics, but A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is another of my all time favorites, and this book may well sit beside it in my affections. The author contends that the original transgression of this land is not to be understood by looking at slavery, but rather by understanding the deep and ultimately evil nature of greed, and it could not be contained. The first European immigrants had been oppressed in their own land by their own king..."they resurrected this misery and passed it on.” Kidnapped Africans are hauled across the ocean, while the natives who live here are shoved off or murdered. Black slavery and Indian genocide may be regarded as distinct historical crimes, but Jeffers constructs her story to illustrate the integration of African and Indian pain in America. Almost immediately, the genealogies of her White European, Native American and enslaved African characters begin to mingle in a collage of expediency, love, rape, and the human need to survive despite all. The book goes from the twenty or so years before the Civil War all the way to right now, and if the convoluted racial composition of these characters is a challenge to track, that’s the point: Despite the strict demarcations of color that reside in the White imagination, the society that evolves in these pages is peopled by a spectrum of hues. Some claim their superiority, most suffer and a few pass. It is a book that is deeply emotional, brutal, without exageration, and offers a uniquely tied together view of our nation past and present.

Braised Short Rib Stew

In the late spring of the pandemic we ordered half of a cow. It was something that we had thought of doing in the past, and never quite did. We have routinely gotten whole pigs and lambs in the past, and enjoyed all aspects of it, including getting a local animal, supporting a neighbor, and our community, so when meat got very briefly tight we made the plunge, and this is what we made with the short ribs (a NYT recipe from Roy Choi. 4 pounds bone-in short ribs 1 small bunch scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped 1 ½ cups soy sauce ¼ cup chopped fresh ginger 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped ½ cup garlic cloves, peeled (about 2 heads) ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup mirin ½ cup fresh orange juice ½ cup apple juice ½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems reserved for another use, halved or quartered if large 1 cup jarred, peeled chestnuts 1 cup taro, peeled and cut into large dice (about a 3-inch segment) 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into large dice (about 2 carrots) 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about half a squash) Put short ribs in a bowl, and cover with water. Drain, and discard water. Repeat twice. Remove short ribs from bowl, and score them diagonally across the top of the meat. Return ribs to the bowl, and rinse again. Remove, and pat dry. In a blender or food processor, combine scallions, soy sauce, ginger, onion, garlic, sugar, mirin, orange juice and apple juice, then pulse to purée. Add a little water if you need to thin out the sauce so it combines. Put puréed sauce in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid, add 3 cups water and stir to combine. Bring pot to a boil over high heat, then add the ribs to the pot and lower heat to a simmer. Cover pot. Cook ribs over low for at least 2 hours. Add vegetables, cover and simmer, 30 minutes more or so, until meat is tender and vegetables are cooked through. Serve warm.

Together Together (2021)

I unexpectedly loved this movie. As a review I read said, is not just smart, it's sneaky-smart. You go into it thinking you know what you're getting into, and the movie conspicuously makes choices that seem intended to announce which boxes it's about to check off. Then it keeps confounding you—in a way that's understated rather than flashy—until you come to accept it on its own terms. It's the perfect storytelling tactic for a movie about a surrogate mother and her patron, a divorced man 20 years her senior. The main characters don't fully appreciate each other until they quit trying to categorize their relationship and let it be whatever it's going to be, while trying not obsess over what'll happen once the baby is born. The script is pitch perfect, and the two main actors make it happen. There was one moment of insight for me, a mistake I haven't made yet but still could. The woman who is the surrogate got pregnant and had a baby in high school that she put up for adoption, that is how she knows that she can carry a vhild and give it away. The pearl of wisdom is that she lost her family, because they saw her differently after she got pregnant, and when she was with them, she couldn't stop seeing herself that way and so she had to leave them. A terrible awful no good mistake, that is so bittersweet and so believable. There is a lot to be learned here.

Les Glycines, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, France

This restaurant is in the town that is near the painted caves that are found throughout the region. The potential for it to be touristy was high, but it wasn't the dining room has a gorgeous view, and is both ancient and modern at the same time. The lunch is a prix fixe at 35 euros, which is well worth it.

The fresh trout in this dish is local, and served in a celery puree--this was a dish that looks great and tastes even better. We had a glass of Monbazillac to go with it and it was memorably delicious.

One thing that we did not do a lot of on this trip was to eat more traditional French dishes, of which this, Veal Blanchette, is one. This was amazing, great mushroom flavor lightly flavored, veal tender, heavy but so delicious that you eat it slowly and savor every bite. I am going to try the blanchette technique with chicken thighs and see if We can replicate a bit. Served with a rice pilaf and enough for two!

She Wouldn't Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha

The author is someone that I know, in a way. She was a resident and I was the residency training director, so a professional relationship, made more personal by being a psychotherapy advisor as well. I am underpowered to fill that role, and was at the time, but she was talented and did not need much from me. She has published her first novel and I really enjoyed it. There is a time travel element, which is not well within my loves, but it is well constructed for the non-fantasy lovers amongst us. She opens the novel with a quote, which will become quite prophetic based on the action to come: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. If you are looking for a novel that will make you think, feel and experience along with the protagonist every single emotion and spiritual dilemma, then you've come to the right place. Dr. Adlakha writes what she knows and constructs a wonderful ride to go along with it--and an obvious jump to a second novel, to boot. Recommended!

French Weekly Markets, Periguex, France

This is the week to reflect on what we have and to give thanks, and I am well up to the task. The thing that I have as a stretch goal is to spend more time in and around the weekly markets that occur in France, to be able to spend enough time in a place to really take advantage of a culture that is built around food.

The fact that you can live in a small town, and not have to leave and still have great access to meats, cheese, seafood and fruits and vegetables is a huge draw for me, and something that I am very jealous of coming from a small midwestern town. I carry things home with me when I travel (France was no exception), the ability to do it as a matter of course would be outstanding.

There is something about these outdoor markets that I find attractive--I had forgotten that but my spouse remembered, and we made three attempts with two successes in our realtively short stay. The French make food shopping fun again!

Local Thanks

The pandemic has made me more of a home body--I suppose that is true for most of us, but it wasn't a burden to be so isolated, at least some of the time, and I have been even more focused on being able to get food that is localas a result. We are long time CSA supporters, and have bought meat directly from the farmer for over three decades. Now I am really loving a Thanksgiving where many of the things on the table were grown in or near the county I live in. I am eating an apple from a local farm even as I write this, at the end of January, I am still able to have this experience, and feel very blessed about that. Happy day of thanks to you and yours.

Brantôme, Perigord Vert, France

Brantôme is in what is known as Perigord Vert, and the last of the four regions to visit. The médiévale town has what is thought to be the oldest bell tower in France, dating back to the 11th century and gets some of it’s height from being built into the rock face. This town is notable for well preserved architecture, coupled with exceptional parking (definitely not a given in a town built pre-automobiles) and a river runs through it.

Another feature is that a river runs through it. Brantome sits on a bend of the river Dronne that encircles a large part of the town and the steep wooded slopes form an attractive backdrop. The Benedictine Abbey on the river's edge is superb and this along with the old stone bridge, weir and pretty mill now turned into a splendid hotel and restaurant all make for a very photogenic scene and make Brantome one of the most beautiful towns of the Perigord Vert.

The Abbey, which the town was built up around, was built by Charlemagne in 769 and is the main historical highlight of the town along with its troglodyte caves including the famous cave of the 'Last Judgement'.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

I found this to be a book that I liked more the further I got in it, and there is plenty of book to be had here. This is a big novel of people thinking big thoughts. The story that underlies the action, which occurs over centuries, is a tale that dates back to ancient times. The story is then interwoven with different characters over different times, some good, some not, all of them are complicated in their own ways and products of their times. In time, we learn the outcomes of several of these stories, and how you might conceive them to be interconnected in their own way. It is a seat of your pants action book that unfolds in a decpetively sluggish manner, and exciting to the end. The earliest action takes place in the mid-15th century when Omeir, an ostracized boy with a cleft palate who is my favorite. He is conscripted into the Ottoman army and becomes a reluctant witness to one of history’s most consequential battles. The new sultan is marching on Constantinople with a set of mighty cannons that may allow him to breach the city’s ancient walls. There are other soldiers and other wars, and it is nicely tied up, more or less, in the end.

Moulin de L'Abbaye, Brantôme, France

We were largely focuses on restaurants with a Bib Gourmand designation from Michelin, which indicates a superior meal, perhaps but not always focusing on local specialties, and at a good value. It was a wildly successful strategy, but we veered off of it to have a meal at a One Star restaurant, because there are just oodles of them in this region, and why miss out on that completely? The setting is absolutely unparalleled. Our table looked out on a water wheel and the Dromme River, so beucolic and peaceful as a setting for a special meal.

We agreed that we would eat whatever the chef, Ramses Alan Navarro ( a Mexican native who moved to France after working in Mexico City), made for us. Each course is a complete surprise, and we were not disappointed, from the amuse bouche and the coofee and sweets that we ate outside along the edge of the river.

THe two courses pictured here are a duck confite ravioli and a roulade of sole filled with and surrounded by razor clams. These were two of my favorite courses that I ate the whole trip, and the meal was very slow in pace, so that you could really savor each bite, not just the individual courses. Warning, though--this took 3 plus hours from the time we were seated until we were back in our car, so it is almost a whole day thing to eat here and see the town, or at least it was for us.